Problem: If the sales tax in your city is $8.3\%$, how much tax would you pay for an item that costs $\$142$ before tax? Round to the nearest cent.
Explanation: In order to find the amount of sales tax you would pay, multiply the sales tax by the original price of the item. ${8.3\%} \times {\$142} =$ Percent means "out of one hundred," so $8.3\%$ is equivalent to $8.3 \div 100$ $8.3 \div 100 = 0.083$ Multiply the sales tax you just converted into a decimal by the original price to find the amount of sales tax that must be paid. Round to the nearest cent. $0.083$ $\times$ $$142$ = $$11.79$ You would pay $$11.79$ in sales tax.